SERMON TITLE: The Chosen
SCRIPTURE: Romans 11:1-10 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 1-5-25
Sermon Discussion Guide
Take notes here
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And if this happens to be your first time to worship with us — or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
After a short break for Christmas — we’re returning to our series in the book of Romans. We returned to Paul’s letter back in September of last year and — we did so — after taking a two year break from the letter. So — if you’re new to Gateway — I’d encourage you to go to our website — gatewayepc.org — and check out the previous sermons from Romans to get caught up.
When we were last in Romans — we’d just finished the tenth chapter where Paul ends on a high note of excitement about the gospel. The gospel — or the Good News as it’s called — is the news of what Jesus accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection on behalf of those who turn to him in faith.
Those who do this are — who Paul calls — the children of the promise. Those who experience freedom from the bondage we’re all born into — a bondage to sin, to rebelling against God, and to Satan — God’s and our enemy. For no one is innocent — none are neutral — either God is your Father because you believe in Jesus and are living accordingly — or — Satan is your father because — no matter what you say you believe about Jesus — you’re living in a way that pleases the one who finds great delight in your eternal destruction.
Thus the reason for Paul to end on such a high note: The children of the promise — all who believe in Jesus — have been set free. They’ve been made alive and are awakened to God’s immeasurable love for them. Good News indeed.
And — since it’s been a few weeks — it’d be good for me to remind you that Paul is answering a question that’s on the minds of his original audience. You see — the wonderful news I just shared with you — was originally a promise given to the Jewish people. In fact God’s Messiah — a word that means Savior — was prophesied — or promised — to be a Jew. And Jesus was a Jew and he came to fulfill the promise of God’s Messiah.
Yet many Jews didn’t accept Jesus as God’s Messiah. They didn’t believe in him — they rejected him. They knew what he was claiming — it wasn’t that they misunderstood Jesus or didn’t catch that he was saying that he was God’s Messiah — they understood him clearly and said, “Not on our watch” — and they had him murdered. And Paul’s readers — many who had Jewish backgrounds — were trying to figure out why so many of their family members and friends had failed to believe in Jesus.
That’s the heart of the chapters we’ve been in and will continue in today and in the coming weeks: why did so many Jews not believe in Jesus? And Paul’s shown us that their rejection of Jesus was not because God’s Word had failed. For the promises to the Jewish people — according to Paul — had been promises given to the true Israelites — not to all who were ethnically Jews — but were promises given to a chosen remnant among the Jews.
Paul then goes on to defend God’s sovereignty in choosing some to be part of this remnant — what he calls — the children of the promise. For God chose Isaac — not Ishmael. He chose Jacob — not Esau. He chose the enslaved Israelites — not Pharaoh. God — in his sovereignty — chooses those whom he will save to be his people.
Which leads Paul to address the question of fairness. Does the fact that God chooses some to be the children of his promise of salvation — and not all — does God’s choosing some make him out to be unfair? Absolutely not — according to Paul.
To which Paul — knowing what our response will be — makes it clear that — though God chooses those who will be children of the promise — those not chosen are still responsible for their sin and rebellion. Paul’s pushing against an idea that’s quite common — the idea where we think that God — if he’s going to be merciful towards some people — is required to be merciful towards all people. And Paul makes it clear that God isn’t required to be merciful towards any of us — for we’ve all sinned and fallen short of his glory — therefore we all deserve his judgment. Thus — if we want to talk about fairness — us all experiencing God’s judgment would be the only thing that’s fair.
Thus what should astound us isn’t that some are judged by God because of their sin — instead — we should be amazed that God is merciful towards anyone. Yet this often appalls us — even those of us who have a high regard for Scripture. Yet our being appalled is due more to secular thinking than what we read in God’s Word. For secular thinking tells us that we’re the final judge on how things should be. So we switch roles and play judge of God — questioning him for being merciful only towards some — as if his mercy is something we all deserve.
And — yet — and please don’t miss this — his mercy is something that many do experience. Can we marvel at how amazing it is that any of us experience God’s mercy? And the reason any of us do is because God — though sinned against by us who he created to honor him by living in obedience to his Word — and though it would be right for him to only dispense his judgment upon all of us — instead — God has said to many, “You are my beloved. Yes — you — though you don’t deserve it — you will be called my people — my child — my son or my daughter.” And if God did not keep for himself a remnant — none of us would be saved.
Yet we’ve also seen that we really do believe — we do respond. Even though faith — or belief in Jesus — is a gift given to us by God — it is our faith. This is why we’re to share the gospel with others — because God uses our sharing of the gospel to be the means by which others are given new life — a spiritually awakened and resurrected life — where they respond to the news about Jesus by believing in him.
And Paul’s been making the case as to why — now — the remnant — God’s chosen people — the children of the promise — includes both Jew and Gentile. Though we find hints of this in the Old Testament — through the stories of Rahab, Ruth, and others — now it’s clear that God’s plan has always been a salvation for people from all nations. Which leads us back to the original question Paul’s addressing: But what about the Jewish people? Is God done with them? Which leads us to our text for today.
If you have your Bible — please turn with me to Romans chapter eleven. We’ll be in Romans chapter eleven — beginning in verse one. There Paul writes…
Romans 11:1–10 (ESV)
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. 7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to answer three questions. One — has God rejected Israel? Two — who are the chosen? And — three — who are the hardened? Has God rejected Israel? Who are the chosen? And who are the hardened?
Let’s begin with our first question: Has God rejected Israel? Let’s return to verse one.
Romans 11:1–2a (ESV)
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2a God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
So Paul makes this easy for us. He gives a clear answer to our question: has God rejected his people? His answer is no! And people — here — refers to the Israelites. We know this because this is who Paul refers to at the end of chapter ten where he writes…
Romans 10:18–21 (ESV)
18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” 19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” 20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” 21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Now — many of you know this — but maybe someone listening doesn’t: chapter and verse numbers aren’t original to the Bible. Meaning Paul didn’t include chapter and verse numbers in his letters — none of the writers of the Bible did. That’d be weird, right? Do you write a letter — or an email or a text — with a bunch of numbers in it? Of course not! Neither did Paul. Chapter and verse numbers were later added to make it easy for us to all find the same place in the Bible. And — most of the time — chapter and verse numbers are very helpful. But there are times when it’s easy to miss a connection because of a chapter break — like that the word “people” refers to the “Israelites”.
Alright — back to our regularly scheduled sermon: So Paul answers our question succinctly and leaves no room for debate. God hasn’t rejected the Jewish people because — Paul says — “I’m a Jew. I’m a physical descendant of Abraham. I come from the tribe of Benjamin.” Paul’s saying, “If God had rejected all Israelites then I wouldn’t believe in Jesus. But I do. So I’m proof that God hasn’t rejected his people.”
So Paul is clearly speaking about the ethnic people of Israel here — not the church which is made up of Jews and non-Jews — but of ethnic Israel. We know this because Paul’s point is that he’s an ethnic Israelite. So there’s no replacement theology going on here. For those who don’t know what that means it’s a theological view that believes the church has replaced the Jewish people. Paul doesn’t leave room for that here as the case he’s been making is about ethnic Jews being rejected by God. And — Paul says — Israel hasn’t been rejected.
Which leads us to our next question — an extremely important question: Who then are the chosen? Who are the chosen? We’re now in verse three.
Romans 11:2b–6 (ESV)
2b Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Who are the remnant — the people chosen by God’s grace to be the children of the promise. And the promise here — the hope — is that God guarantees that he’ll always keep a people for himself.
And to illustrate this promise — Paul takes us back to the time of the prophet Elijah. He quotes from the book of First Kings but leaves out a bit of what Elijah said. Here’s what we read back in First Kings.
1 Kings 19:14 (ESV)
14 He (Elijah) said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
So there’s no doubt — in Elijah’s mind — that he’s been committed — maybe even super-committed — to God. It’s like he’s saying, “God, I’m the last faithful person to you left on planet earth — and now my enemy is about to kill me. Is this really how you’re going to let things end? Because — if I die — no one will be left who worships you!”
Now — if you don’t know Elijah’s story — first — he’s repeated this statement to God twice before this moment. So this is really on his mind — that he’s the last faithful person on planet earth. So God teaches Elijah a lesson on faithfulness. And it’s this lesson that Paul uses to show his readers — and us — who the chosen are and why they’re the chosen.
Paul quotes God telling Elijah, “I’ve kept for myself seven thousand men who’ve not bowed the knee to Baal” — Baal was a false god in Elijah’s day. And — to be clear — what God is saying is, “I’ve made sure that these seven thousand people have remained faithful to me.” God ensured that they remained faithful — they were a remnant — chosen by grace.
So if like Elijah — if you feel like you’re all alone — remember — our God does not change. He who was faithful in Elijah’s day — who kept for himself a remnant — is the God who kept a remnant in Paul’s day — and is the God who keeps a remnant of faithful followers today. You’re not alone — but it’s easy to think you’re all alone if you’ve isolated yourself from other Christians.
Remember — Elijah had run away — he was hiding in a cave in isolation. Your cave may be physical, relational, or emotional — but if you’re hiding and keeping others out — and you can come to church and still be hiding in a metaphorical cave — if this is you — your feeling of being all alone may be due to you having isolated yourself from God’s people. And — if you’ve been around Gateway for any number of weeks — you’ve probably heard how we desire to be a family around here. But you’ll never feel like you’re part of our family if you stay hidden in whatever cave you’re hiding in.
But I hope your heart rejoices with the news of God’s faithfulness to keep for himself a remnant — a chosen people — a people chosen by grace. That he’s determined to keep for himself a faithful people and has the power and authority to ensure it happens. Though pastors may come and go — though churches may rise and fall — though the spiritual condition of our nation may be one or revival or revulsion — how assuring it is to know that God will always keep for himself a faithful people.
And now we turn to the hardened — who are the hardened? This is our final question. Let’s look in verse seven.
Romans 11:7–10 (ESV)
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
Who are the hardened? The rest — Paul says — those who are not the elect — or the children of the promise. Ethnicity isn’t what matters when it comes to being right with God — though the Jews in Paul’s day thought that’s what mattered. What matters is whether or not God has called you to be part of his chosen people and your response to his call.
And I know how this leads us right back into the thick of the theological messiness once again. We want it to be where either God is sovereign — where he chooses those who are the elect — or we’re responsible — where we choose to believe in Jesus or not. But the Bible doesn’t give us the option to choose between the two. God is sovereign — he chooses those who are his elect people — and — all will be held accountable for their response to the gospel.
Here Paul quotes from Isaiah where the prophet writes…
Isaiah 29:10 (ESV)
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).
This was said as a warning to the people of Judah who were living in rebellion to God. It was a prophetic call to repent of their sin and rebellion or face the consequences of God’s just judgment — part of which would include — and this should cause all of us to pause — God pouring out on them a spirit of deep sleep — a spiritual deadness. Prophets not prophesying — seers not receiving visions. And I say that this should cause all of us to pause because this is a gracious warning of what God will do to those who refuse to repent — who are comfortable going about life rebelling against him. It’s a very spiritually dangerous thing for God to give us what we want — when what we want isn’t him. And this warning was given to people who thought they were the chosen.
Then — in verse nine — Paul quotes from Psalm sixty-nine. In fact — he’ll quote from this psalm nine times in this chapter of Romans. When we take communion later — the psalm will be read so you see how it connects to the life of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross.
Retribution means “to get what one deserves” — and it can refer to reward or punishment. So here — Paul — in quoting from Psalm sixty-nine — indicates that the Jewish people who rejected Jesus will be punished accordingly. This means they are guilty — and God will hold them accountable for their unbelief — just as he will hold all people accountable for their unbelief.
The quote continues with “and bend their backs forever.” The idea — here — is carrying a heavy load. Doing hard, impossible, kind of work. This counters the earlier idea of the table — where there’s feasting. For that table of feasting was actually a trap. The table represents the good things of life. Gifts from God that we allow to become traps and stumbling blocks as we allow his gifts to become more valuable to us than him.
But this is what happens to those whose hearts are hardened towards God. There’s this going back and forth between feasting and delighting in the things the world sets before us — sex, money, fame, toys — and this burdensome task of works-based salvation — of trying to please God by obeying a set of rules. Where — instead of responding to God’s grace — his unearned favor offered to us in Jesus Christ — we either live indulgently — finding fulfillment in the things of this world — or live under the burden of trying to hike our way up to heaven — believing we can earn God’s love. This is the picture of the hard heart. I wonder if any of this resonates with someone listening? If the people of Israel could be hardened — we’d be foolish to think that we can’t be hardened too.
So what are we to do in response to all that we’ve learned today? First, if we want to know God and have an intimate relationship with him — we have to take him at his Word — on his own terms. We’re not in the driver’s seat — we don’t get to dictate to him how he should be, how he should act, or how he should relate to us — especially when it comes to repentance, faith, and living accordingly. Either we take God at his Word or we’re nothing more than idolaters who’ve created our own false religion. How seriously are you taking God and his Word?
Second, we’ve learned a magnificent promise — a promise we’ve been reminded of again and again while in Romans. The promise is this: If God failed to keep his promise to Israel — then he’s untrustworthy. If God failed to keep his promise to Israel — then we have no reason to believe that his promises to us can be trusted. If God failed to keep his promise to Israel — our hope that he’ll keep his promises to us all falls to the wayside.
But here’s the good news: God’s promises to Israel did not fail. That’s the point Paul’s been making.
Which means — third — if you believe in Jesus — be joyful! For the God of grace has saved you. And let grace be grace — stop trying to earn it. When you wake up in the morning — remember — I’m saved by grace! When you go to work — remember — I’m saved by grace! When you drive your kids to school — remember — I’m saved by grace! When you’re at home — remember — I’m saved by grace! When you come to church — remember — I’m saved by grace! Whatever the day, week, month, or year may bring — remember — I’m saved by grace! And live accordingly. Praise God. Find joy in him. And respond to his love by loving him in return. For — if you believe in Jesus — you are the chosen — and you have been saved by grace! Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, what wonderful, glorious news: We’re saved by your grace! Thank you for your grace today. Thank you for your grace tomorrow. Thank you for your grace all the days of our lives.
Jesus, your life, death, and resurrection are the reason why we experience grace. May we never forget — but always remember and live accordingly — that your work is what has secured us in the grace of God.
And — Holy Spirit — may you — by your grace — awaken hearts among us. Your good news has been heard and may you lead many in response to it. A response of faith — believing in Jesus — and repentance — turning away from their sin. May you soften hard hearts — giving them a love for Jesus. And we pray all of this in his name. Amen.
As we turn to the Lord’s Table together — let’s not forget the warning we’ve heard from God today. Beware that you are not hardening your heart against our merciful Lord as many did in Paul’s day. We’ve heard from God today — he’s lovingly warned us to not reject his Messiah — but to embrace what Christ has done — on our behalf and in our place — in giving his life as a sacrifice for our sins. This is what we remember as we come to his table.
Yet — for the Christian — this meal is more than mere remembering — it’s a feast on God’s grace and kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For this meal is the Good News. Here we see the power of God as displayed in the sacrifice of Jesus. Communion is the gospel not written down or spoken in words — but it’s the gospel — the good news of Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection in a different form.
The bread and the cup. His body and his blood. Wounded for us. Pierced for us. Shed for us. Beaten for us. Bloodied for us. Humbling us by reminding us of the death we all deserve. Yet stirring joy in us as we feast on the reward of grace that we don’t deserve — but are able to experience because of our Heavenly Father’s love toward us.
The apostle Paul describes it this way.
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”
With these words Christ has commanded all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in true faith and in the confident hope of his return in glory.
Leader: To those who follow Jesus — I ask: What do you believe?
Congregation: I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born from the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, descended into hell,
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty,
thence he will come to judge the living and the dead;
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic* Church,
the communion of saints,
the remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh,
and eternal life.
Amen.
*That is, the true Christian church of all times and places.
At this time, I’d like to invite forward those who are going to be serving us. And — while they make their way forward — know that as the bread and cup are passed down your rows, take the bread on your own — but save the cup — which we’ll drink together. In the trays with the bread — there’s a gluten free option in the center of the tray for those who need it. Eat the bread on your own — but save the cup — which we’ll drink together.
COMMUNION PASSED OUT
“The word of the Lord as recorded in Psalm 69.”
Psalm 69 (ESV)
1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. 4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? 5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. 7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. 8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons. 9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. 10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. 11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. 12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. 13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. 14 Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. 15 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. 16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 17 Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. 18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies! 19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. 20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. 22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. 23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. 24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. 25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. 26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. 27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. 28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. 29 But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high! 30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. 32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 33 For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners. 34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 35 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; 36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Let’s pray. Father, we acknowledge that you are holy and majestic — and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. In Jesus, your Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He was full of grace and truth. He lived as one of us — knowing joy and sorrow. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, opened blind eyes, and broke bread with outcasts and sinners. Dying on the cross, he gave himself for the life of the world. Raised from the grave, he won for us victory over death. Therefore we praise you that Christ now reigns with you and will come again to make all things new. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
May you go with the joy of knowing that your salvation is by God’s grace — and his grace alone. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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